How to change notification sounds for each app on your Android phone

Customizing notification sounds on your phone makes it easy to hear when your most important apps are sending you alerts.

Notifications are essential, but they can become a distraction if you have to check your phone frequently. Smartphone music presets can be rather dull and maybe a little overwhelming at times. That’s why it’s best to assign priority tones to certain apps so that only the most important alerts get your attention.

Do you want an incoming email to beep different from a calendar alert? Your smartphone can give you a more welcoming and personalized experience. We’ll show you how to set up custom sounds for each app so that critical notifications aren’t drowned out.

How to set a custom alert sound in Settings

You can configure personalized notification sounds through the phone’s default settings. Here’s how to do it:

1. On your device, go to Settings> Applications> Your applications (menu names may be slightly different on some devices).

2. Find the app for which you want to set a custom tone and select it.

3. On the app information page, tap Notifications and activate the cursor button to Show notifications.

4. You will be able to view a number of notification categories on the App-specific Notifications page, such as general or device-level notifications. Choose the appropriate category and select Alert.

5. On the Notifications category page, scroll to the Ring section. It shows the default dial tone enabled for the app. Faucet Ring and select the desired notification tone from the list to change the presets.

How to use your own audio files as priority tones

Whether you prefer techno beats, classic strings, or vintage phone sounds, the default tones don’t cut it sometimes. They are often generic or just a little boring. When it comes to setting custom sounds for specific apps on your smartphone, you have the option of recording your own sound clips or using existing songs in your music library. Let’s see how to do it.

Step 1: Record realistic sound clips

With a little work, you can record your own audio clip using the sound recorder app preinstalled on your phone. You can also use applications such as Voice Recorder for this purpose.

To edit your recordings, try using a free audio editing app to cut and transform audio clips to the correct length and file type. Some apps offer advanced features like multitrack editing, creating sound effects, and adding synthesized instruments. After editing the recording as you like, export it as an MP3 file and add it to your notifications folder.

For our example, we’ll use MP3 Cutter and Ringtone Maker.

To download: MP3 Cutter and Ringtone Maker (Free in-app purchases available)

Here’s how to edit your audio file:

1. Install and launch the MP3 Cutter and Ringtone Maker app.

2. Download the recorded audio file.

3. Adjust the Start and To finish handlebar to cut the clip to the required length. You also have the option to mix sound effects and merge audio files.

4. Click on to safeguard and export the file to MP3 format. Read on to see how to set this file as notification sound.

Step 2: Set an MP3 as a Custom Alert

Chances are, you have a ton of music files downloaded to your smartphone. You can use them as a kind of notification alert. To cut or crop audio files, follow the steps listed in the section above.

Related: 5 tips to beat notification fatigue

Keep in mind that the audio file should be stored locally in the Notifications folder of your file manager app. Here’s how to do it:

1. On your device, open the My Files app or the File Manager app.

2. Move towards Categories> Audio> Music file (s).

3. Select the desired MP3 file and press Move. Return to the notification folder in My Files> Categories> Audio> Notifications and press Move here to transfer and store the file locally.

4. When finished, return to Settings> Applications> Your applications and select the app for which you want to configure a custom alert.

5. Navigate to the Ring settings (as mentioned in the first section) and you will now be able to see the music file added to the list.

6. Tap the file to set it up as your custom alert tone.

Control your incoming notifications with personalized tones

Most of us are bombarded with notifications on our smartphones all day long. Whether it’s an alert from an important calendar app or a post from a social media channel you’re following, it can be difficult to keep track of your notifications.

Using custom tones for frequently used apps is a great way to simplify alerts and personalize your notifications while avoiding distractions.

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